This Heart Beats for You
by featherandink
Summary: Hermione sleeps for four days. One, two, three, four. On the fifth day...


**A/N: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise or the song "My Heart" by Paramore.**

_This heart, it beats, beats only for you._

_My heart is yours._

"Hermione! Hermione!" I hear your voice screaming at me, and I can feel your hands shaking my body back and forth, as if I were one of those Raggedy Ann dolls I had in my childhood.

_Draco, Draco._

"Hermione, what did you get yourself into?"

_I wanted to do the right thing._

"God, please don't leave me, Hermione," you whisper.

Are you crying?

_This is the first time you've ever called me by my first name._

This is the last thing I think before I fall victim to the sleep tugging at my eyes.

**01.**

Hermione sleeps for four days. One, two, three, four. On the fifth day, she wakes up.

A blond haired boy is the first person to come into vision.

"Hermione."

She blinks.

"Granger."

She looks up at him, and stares straight into his grey eyes.

His mouth is slightly hanging open, like he's surprised. Then he slowly smiles and yells, "Harry! Ron! Come in here!"

Two young men come barging into the room clumsily. One has bright green eyes, spectacles, and messy jet-black hair. The other has blue eyes and red hair. Both share the same wild look on their faces.

"Hermione," the red-haired boy breathes.

"'Mione." The green-eyed boy smiles.

_Hermione, 'Mione, Granger, God, which one of those is my name?_

"Hermione," the blond-haired boy says. "Hermione. Oh my God, Hermione."

_I'm guessing it's Hermione. What an odd name._

I smile uneasily and prop myself up on my elbows. "I don't mean to ruin the mood or anything," I say in a voice that is unrecognizable, "But who are you all? Where am I?"

The smiles on the three boys faces quickly diminish, and disappointment takes over.

If Hermione knows anything, it is disappointment.

"Well," the black-haired boy starts, "The doctor said this might happen."

_Doctor? What's that?_

He reaches out his arm towards mine. "I'm Harry Potter," he says, smiling, although I can tell by his eyes are glistening that he's on the verge of crying.

_Why are you sad?_

I grasp his hand in mine and shake it. "I'm..." I start, and my voice trails off.

_Who am I?_

Remembering what the boys have addressed me by, I try again. "I'm... Hermione," I say. "Hermione..."

This time, the red-haired boy answers for me. "Hermione Granger," he says. "Hermione Jean Granger. I'm Ron Weasley. It's nice to meet you." He is trying harder than the black-haired boy—Harry, but I can tell that he wants to cry too.

_Why is everyone so sad?_

Lastly, the blond-haired boy introduces himself. "Draco Malfoy," he says simply. I look into his eyes to see if he is sad too, but he is harder. His eyes are glassy, as if tears are gathering up in his eyes, but they are dull too. He is swallowing, as if he is trying to get rid of the lump gathering in his throat, but he is clenching his jaw too.

He is angry and sad.

"Hi," I say, trying to apologize for whatever I've done. "I'm Hermione Granger, I suppose."

He breaks out into a smile.

That exact moment, a child is born a few floors up ahead.

**02.**

Hermione sleeps for four days. One, two, three, four. On the fifth day, she is killed by Draco.

It is the hardest thing he has had to do by far, and being a former Death Eater, he's had to do quite a few hard things that still haunt him to this day. But this moment, this moment is different. She's the first person that he's felt any emotion for - besides hate - in years.

He loves her.

But it's been five days, five goddamn days of watching her. Watching her chest rise oh-so-slightly with each breath she takes, watching her twitch every once and a while, probably because of some bad dreams. He's been watching her for five days, 120 hours, 7,200 minutes, whatever you want to call it. Draco calls it torture, and he just can't fucking take it anymore.

He has always been weak.

So, with trembling hands, he slowly takes his wand out of his belt. He cups her face, and her usually warm skin is abnormally cold. He brushes her hair out of her face, the same hair that has been the subject of his teasing for so many years. She doesn't know it, but he's been captivated by those shiny, brown, curls for years. He twirls a lock around his finger, pressing his nose up against it slightly and inhailing, inhailing that sweet, enchanting scent of hers. He rubs his thumb along her soft cheeks, savoring the feel of her skin.

Then he leans down and shifts his head slightly, and presses his lips against hers.

He's been waiting to do this for so long, but he now realizes it's been worth it all along.

Her lips are even softer than he imagined, even after 5 days of being in a coma.

He kisses her and kisses her, even though she's not responding at all.

It's better if she doesn't know.

Then he steps back, his breathing slightly louder, and his heart pumping slightly faster.

He raises his wand slowly, so slow it's excrutiatingly painful. After what seems like forever, he presses the wand to her neck.

He kisses her for a second time, just so their first kiss won't be their last.

He intertwines her cold hands with his even colder,and swallows the lump forming in his throat.

He opens his mouth and a strangled sob comes out, and then he whispers those two words, those two, awful, words.

_"Avada kedavra."_

His wand emits a green light, and it shines onto her.

Her body goes slack, and her hand falls slightly, but he picks it up presses his thumb into her wrist, not wanting to miss it.

He catches it just before it goes, that one, last, faint, _thump_ of her heart.

Then he feels nothing. Nothing except for that loss. That hollow, calm, utter loss.

He waits for just a few seconds, although he knows that nothing will change, just in case.

Then he lets go of his grasp on her hand, and her arm immediately falls, dangling just inches above the ground.

He stands up and leans over her dead body, brushing her cheeks with his lips as he whispers the three words he has been too scared to tell her all this time.

"_I love you."_

That exact moment, a candle flickers out in the hallway.

**.03**

Hermione sleeps for four days. One, two, three, four. On the fifth day, she wakes up.

Her eyelids flutter open, and her vision is blurred.

She blinks a few times, and her eyesight slowly comes into focus.

The first thing she sees is Draco Malfoy, his arms behind his head and his legs outstretched.

His mouth is slightly open, and he's... _snoring._

She lets out a laugh.

"Draco," she says.

No response.

"Draco," she says louder.

Still nothing.

"Draco!"

He jerks a little, and opens his eyes.

"Wha...?"

His mouth forms a silent _o_ as Hermione comes into focus.

She waves her hand at him and smiles.

"Um, hi," she greets.

His eyes enlargen.

"Draco..."

He sprints out of the room, yelling, "Harry! Ron! Ohmygod! She's awake!"

Hermione waits awkwardly.

She doesn't have to wait for long, though, because after about 3 seconds, Harry, Ron, and Draco come charging in with wild looks on their faces.

"Hermione!" Harry shouts, and his face brightens as he sees her. He runs over to her and hugs her with all his might.

"Ohmygod, you're actually awake! You're awake!"

Hermione chuckles. "Yes, I am. Ow, Harry, you're crushing my ribs. Hi Ron, Draco. Let go of me, Harry, so I can hug my other two favorite boys."

He lets go of his grasp on her and apologizes. "I'm sorry, 'Mione, I forgot, you must really be in pain..."

She grins. "I'm okay," she says as she outstretches her arms and embraces Ron.

"Hey," he whispers. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replies. "I'm okay. I think."

She takes the covers off the bed to reveal scars and bruises on her legs and arms.

"You call that okay?"

"I don't hurt or anything," she says as she presses a thumb against a bruise. "Ow."

"Hey, don't do that," Ron says. "Lay down and get some rest." He puts his hands on her shoulders and tries to gently ease her down.

"Wait, wait, wait," she refuses. "What about Draco?"

The two boys turn to Draco Malfoy, who is standing and waiting rather awkwardly.

They know his secret.

"Come over here," Hermione says, gesturing him towards her.

He walks towards her and hugs her.

There is a spark as their skin touches, at least for Draco.

Harry nudges Ron.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," Draco says.

Hermione laughs. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"You're really stupid, you know that? Trying to take on a group of death eaters... what were you thinking?"

"They... they were trying to hurt you," Hermione explains.

"They're nothing I can't handle. You shouldn't have interfered."

"I'm sorry."

Draco sighs. "It's alright. Just don't do that again. What matters is you're alive and well."

"Were you the one that brought me here?" Hermione asks.

"Yeah. I was going to take you to St. Mungo's, but it would be too dangerous. So I took you here. Muggle hospitals really are quite peculiar, you know?"

Hermione smiles.

"Hey," Harry says. "I have to the restroom."

"Me too," Ron chimes.

The two walk out of the room, leaving Hermione and Draco by themselves.

"They did it on purpose, those bastards," Draco whispers under his breath.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Lay down," he replies as he eases her down on the bed.

As soon as she lays down, Hermione says, "You know they left us alone on purpose, right?"

Draco smirks. "Yeah."

Gathering up his strength, he intertwines his fingers with hers.

Hermione looks at him with surprise, but does not show any signs of dislike.

After a few seconds, she speaks, "You really care for me, don't you?"

Draco is silent for a moment. "Yeah."

"Me too."

Draco smiles slightly, Hermione can see it out of the corner of her eye.

"Not the way I do."

"And in what way do you care for me, exactly?"

"Not the same way Harry and Ron do. Not the same way your parents do. Not the same way you care for me."

"And how do you know the last sentence is true?"

She sees Draco go stiff for a moment, and then he relaxes. "I just do."

She squeezes his hand and lifts him up, and she stands up herself.

"Really?" she asks.

"Hermione, what are you—"

"I care for you too," Hermione says, "The same way you do."

"And how do you know how I care for you?"

Hermione grins.

"Why don't you show me?"

Draco goes stiff again, and he slowly brings his eyes up to meet hers.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she replies with a playful smile on her face.

"Alright then," he says as he wraps his arms around her waist. "I'll go easy on you."

He dips his head and brings his lips to meet hers, and a surge of electricity runs through his entire body.

He's been waiting for this moment for forever.

Hermione wastes no time, and instantly kisses him back.

The two stand there, kissing each other with such passion and love that they do not notice two certain boys high-fiving each other.

_Fin._


End file.
